Have had dust on the lungs since 1980 and am as pack a day smoker.doctors at hospital in 1990 looked and said i would be dead by age 40 to 45 if i didn't quit right away. i never did. i am now 54 and just had an x-ray taken. my doctor said lungs look clea

A : A chest x-ray would show signs of cancer or an out right tumor. The fact that your x-ray was clear means that there were no signs of anything abnormal. The "dust" that was previously seen was likely a pneumonitis from work exposure, which has thus resolved. Lastly, i must warn you that if you continue to smoke the odds of developing cancer are high. Please seek help if you want to quit. All the best to you.

Pushing your luck: A chest xray cannot tell how well your lungs function, and pulmonary function tests are the true measure of whether smoking is damaging your lungs. However, lungs are not the only problem - heart attacks, mouth/throat cancers (and others), strokes and many other conditions associated with long-term smoking. Smoking hurts 90% of those who engage in it - the odds are very much against you. Stop!